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An appeals court has ruled that Jeffco critic and talk-show host Mike Zinna is entitled to receive reasonable attorney fees beyond the $8,000 he initially was awarded in connection with his 2009 First Amendment lawsuit against former Jefferson County commissioner Jim Congrove, who died Jan. 10 of heart failure.

As a result of the decision, published June 5, county taxpayers are potentially on the hook for thousands of dollars in legal fees. The exact amount of the appropriate fee is to be determined by a lower court.

Lifelong Republican, West Point graduate, Harley-Davidson motorcycle rider and small-business owner Dan Stroud believes he has the formula for successfully defeating U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette in the 1stCongressional District.

His campaign slogan is "Regret DeGette? Vote Dan Stroud, CD1."

Stroud and truck driver Richard Murphy are on the GOP ballot in the June 26 primary in CD1; the winner faces DeGette in the Nov. 6 general election.

After emerging on the political scene from virtually nowhere, Richard Murphy, a down-to-earth, 61-year-old trucker and Vietnam vet from Green Valley Ranch in northeast Denver, is jockeying to be the Republican anti-war candidate against veteran politician Diana DeGette in CD1.

DeGette has served 17 years in Congress and won election eight times. After redistricting, South Jeffco is now in the newly reconfigured 1st Congressional District, with the Democrat DeGette the incumbent. It was previously in the 6th, with incumbent Republican Mike Coffman.

Under a proposal to expand Chatfield Reservoir, more than 500 acres of the existing 5,400-acre park will be flooded, requiring the reconstruction of most of the park facilities, including the marina, boat ramp, swim beach and balloon launch area.

The $194 million project would add 20,600 acre-feet of storage capacity to the current 27,000 acre-feet. An acre-foot represents the annual water use of one family.

The upscale food-court atmosphere that prevails at so many farmers markets has prompted Jeffco health authorities to impose stricter regulations on food vendors selling items typically offered at restaurants.

Some small-business operators are complaining, and some are choosing to take their offerings elsewhere.

Vendors selling what are called potentially hazardous food items — such as burritos, tamales, pizza slices, hamburgers and salads — for immediate consumption must submit a plan to health authorities first and obtain a $255 mobile unit license.

An appeals court has ruled that Jeffco critic and talk-show host Mike Zinna is entitled to receive reasonable attorney fees beyond the $8,000 he initially was awarded in connection with his 2009 First Amendment lawsuit against former Jefferson County commissioner James Congrove, who died Jan. 10 of heart failure.

The Jeffco school board voted 4-1 at its June 7 meeting to put a property-tax increase on the Nov. 6 general election ballot.

County residents will vote on a $39 million mill-levy increase and a $99 million bond issue. The mill levy would represent a tax increase of about $111 per year for the owner of a $250,000 home. The bond would represent an increase of $19.80 per year for the same home.

However, a bond issued in 1992 is scheduled to retire in December, so the net impact of the measures would be about $40 per year for the owner of a $250,000 home.